Leicester City

Marc Albrighton's superb goal sets Leicester on their way to a hard-fought win over Rennes in the first leg of their last-16 Europa Conference League tie.

Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. - Shots - 14Iheanacho - 4Söyüncü - 18Amartey - 1Schmeichel

The Portuguese defender has missed out on Leicester City's last two games with a hamstring injury.

"Brendan Rodgers will look to protect him. "Football is a contact sport and sometimes you’re just unlucky. "There were high levels of expectation because pre-injury he was in top form.

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“I cannot control results and I cannot predict which matches we are going to win, draw or lose, it’s impossible. What are the latest odds? What is the latest team news?

In an exclusive interview, Leicesters Marc Albrighton discusses his return to the team, being inspired by James Milner and playing left-back.

"In the morning I will be stretching and making sure I am getting in the right preparation for training because ultimately training now is a lot harder than it was when I started. I think that is down to hard work and when you do win things it proves that the hard work is paying off and it will come at some point. It was not always that way for the young Albrighton. "My routine now is a million miles away from when I was younger," he admits. "I am doing a lot more work in the gym. For Albrighton, the problem solver, the model professional - "I am not one for the things surrounding football" - Milner, in particular, is a source of inspiration. "I should have seen the writing on the wall, really. "We have had plenty of conversations about that and how he is comfortable playing me in different positions." "There is always a lot of outside noise." But everyone is on the same page and everyone wants the same thing. "I feel like I am in a rhythm now." "He has been a big player for us coming into the team because what has allowed us to get our win rate up is our work rate. "The game that followed that against Brighton we conceded late again," he adds.

Ruthless finishing by Albrighton and Iheanacho give the Foxes the edge in the first leg.

In injury time, Lookman nicked the ball off the toes of a defender and the Foxes poured forward. The second half started in a similar fashion to the first. Certainly one of them wasn’t up to the job as the shot crashed into the roof of the net, giving Leicester an early 1-0 lead. The poles switched after 20’ and all the play was suddenly in the visitors’ half. The fact that Schmeichel had next to nothing to do was down to poor shooting and good fortune as opposed to brilliant defence. Leicester City saw off Stade Rennes by a score of 2-0 at the King Power on Thursday afternoon in their Europa Conference League round of 16 tie.

It's two days of recovery for Leicester City before they take on in-form Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (4:30pm kick-off). Brendan Rodgers and his players will be bouncing into the game off the back of two straight victories and as many ...

"I think he’s been very close and that’s why we have to keep pushing him and supporting him so that he can play with that confidence," the Spaniard said of Lacazette. "Hopefully on Sunday he can do it." Granit Xhaka, who has been playing in a role that is clearly out of his comfort zone, has responded well to the challenge and should be granted another start. The Gunners will be looking to make it five wins out of five for the first time in Mikel Arteta's tenure in charge as they close in on a Champions League finish.